US Universities Adopt Principles For Medicines Access, Tech Transfer

Several leading universities in the United States as well as the National Institutes of Health have adopted a set of principles regarding intellectual property and research intended to aid dissemination of medical technology.

The Statement of Principles and Strategies for the Equitable Dissemination of Medical Technologies [pdf] pledges a commitment to effective technology transfer in developing countries through creative use of licensing strategies, judicious application of intellectual property rights, and engagement in research for public health purposes rather than economic gain.

Principles go beyond a 2007 document, Nine Principles To Consider in Licensing University Technology [pdf], said a press release by the universities. It provides more detailed guidance to ensure the patent system aids medicine dissemination and suggests areas of needed research to ease disease burdens in developing countries.

The principles were written by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), Boston University, Brown University, Harvard University, Oregon Health & Science University, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University. The NIH and the University of Illinois Chicago endorsed them today.

Universities Allied for Essential Medicine, a student coalition, welcomed the move but raised concerns that it might not go far enough in highlighting the value of generics in reducing drug prices. In particular, the group said, the principles are ambiguous on the facilitation of access to medicines in India, China and Brazil, where there are generic manufacturers, and on whether India, China and Brazil’s manufacturers can produce generic medicines for countries that lack manufacturing capacity.